The Annunciation in the Bible

In the Bible, the
Annunciation is narrated in the book of Luke, Chapter 1, verses
26-38 (NASB):

26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel
Gabriel to
Nazareth,
a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man
named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly
favored! The Lord is with you."29Mary was greatly troubled at his
words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the
angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor
with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you
are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be
called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the
throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of
Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."34"How will this be,"
Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"35The angel answered,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High
will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the
Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child
in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth
month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."38"I am the Lord's
servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then
the angel left her.

The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the
twelve Great Feasts
of the church year. As the action initiating the Incarnation
of Christ, Annunciation has such an important place in Eastern
Orthodox theology that the Festal Divine
Liturgy of St. John
Chrysostom is always celebrated on March 25, regardless of what
day it falls on—even if it falls on Pascha (Easter
Sunday) itself, a coincidence which is called Kyriopascha. The only
time the Divine Liturgy may be celebrated on Great
and Holy Friday is if it falls on March 25. Due to this, the
rubrics regarding the celebration of the feast are the most
complicated of all in Orthodox liturgics. The Annunciation is
called Euangelismos (Evangelism) in Greek,
literally meaning "spreading the Good News".

Related dates

In the Roman
Catholic, Anglican,
and Lutheranliturgical
calendars, the feast is moved if necessary to prevent it from
falling during Holy Week or
Easter
Week. In the Roman Catholic and Lutheran Churches it may also
be moved to prevent its falling on a Sunday. To avoid a Sunday
before Holy Week, the next day (March 26) would
be observed instead. In years like 2008 when March 25 falls during
Holy Week or Easter Week the Annunciation is moved to the Monday
after Octave of
Easter, which is the Sunday after Easter.

It might be thought that with a very early
Easter, the feast of St Joseph would be displaced from 19 March to
the Monday after Easter week, thus displacing the Annunciation to
the Tuesday. However, in the Roman
Catholic calendar, if the Feast of
St Joseph, normally falling on March 19, must
also be moved as a consequence of Easter falling on one of its
earliest possible dates, it is moved to an earlier rather than a
later date. This will normally be the Saturday before Holy Week.
(This change was announced by the
Congregation for Divine Worship in Notitiae March-April, 2006
(475-476, page 96).) In the Church of
England it is moved to the Tuesday after Easter Week, following
the Annunciation on the Monday, which is of higher rank and takes
precedence.

The Eastern churches (Eastern
Orthodox, Oriental
and Eastern
Catholic) do not move the feast of the Annunciation under any
circumstance. They have special combined liturgies for those years
when the Annunciation coincides with another feast. In these
churches, even on Good Friday a
Divine
Liturgy is celebrated when it coincides with the Annunciation.
One of the most frequent accusations brought against New
Calendarism is the fact that in the New Calendar churches
(which celebrate the Annunciation according to the New
Calendar, but Easter according to the Old
Calendar), these special Liturgies can never be celebrated any
more, since the Annunciation is always well before Holy Week on
the New Calendar. The Old Calendarists believe that this
impoverishes the liturgical and spiritual life of the Church.

The first authentic allusions to it are in a
canon,
of the Council
of Toledo (656), and another of the Council of Constantinople
"in
Trullo" (692), forbidding the celebration of any festivals
during Lent,
excepting the Lord's Day
(Sunday) and the Feast of the
Annunciation. An earlier origin has been claimed for it on the
ground that it is mentioned in sermons of Athanasius and
of Gregory
Thaumaturgus, but both of these documents are now admitted to
be spurious. A synod held
at Worcester,
England (1240), forbade all servile work on this feast day. See
further Lady
Day.

Annunciation is also cited in the Quran, in Suras
3 (Aal 'Imran - The family of Imran) verses 45-51 and 19 (Maryam -
Mary) verses 16-26, although without mentioning Jesus as the son of
God.

From chapter 2

[45] (Remember) when the angels said: "O Maryam
(Mary)! Verily, Allâh gives you the glad tidings of a Word ("Be!" -
and he was! i.e. 'Isâ (Jesus) the son of Maryam (Mary)) from Him,
his name will be the Messiah 'Isâ (Jesus), the son of Maryam
(Mary), held in honor in this world and in the Hereafter, and will
be one of those who are near to Allâh."[46] "He will speak to the
people in the cradle and in manhood, and he will be one of the
righteous."[47] She said: "O my Lord! How shall I have a son when
no man has touched me." He said: "So (it will be) for Allâh creates
what He wills. When He has decreed something, He says to it only:
"Be!" - and
it is.[48] And He (Allâh) will teach him ('Isâ (Jesus)) the
Book and Al-Hikmah (i.e. the Sunnah, the faultless speech of the
Prophets, wisdom), (and) the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel
(Gospel).[49] And will make him ('Isâ (Jesus)) a Messenger to the
Children of Israel (saying): "I have come to you with a sign from
your Lord, that I design for you out of clay, a figure like that of
a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allâh's
Leave; and I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I
bring the dead to life by Allâh's Leave. And I inform you of what
you eat, and what you store in your houses. Surely, therein is a
sign for you, if you believe.[50] And I have come confirming that
which was before me of the Taurât (Torah), and to make lawful to
you part of what was forbidden to you, and I have come to you with
a proof from your Lord. So fear Allâh and obey me.[51] Truly! Allâh
is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him (Alone). This is the
Straight Path.

From chapter 19

[16] And mention in the Book (the Qur'ân, O
Muhammad (peace be upon him) the story of) Maryam (Mary), when she
withdrew in seclusion from her family to a place facing east.[17]
She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to
her Our Ruh (angel Jibrîl (Gabriel)) and he appeared before her in
the form of a man in all respects.[18] She said: "Verily! I seek
refuge with the Most Gracious (Allâh) from you, if you do fear
Allâh."[19] (The angel) said: "I am only a Messenger from your
Lord, (to announce) to you the gift of a righteous son."[20] She
said: "How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, nor am I
unchaste?"[21] He said: "So (it will be), your Lord said: 'That is
easy for Me (Allâh): And (We wish) to appoint him as a sign to
mankind and a mercy from Us (Allâh), and it is a matter (already)
decreed, (by Allâh).' "[22] So she conceived him, and she withdrew
with him to a far place (i.e. Bethlehem valley about 4-6 miles from
Jerusalem).[23] And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk
of a date-palm. She said: "Would that I had died before this, and
had been forgotten and out of sight!"[24] Then (the babe 'Iesa
(Jesus) or Jibrîl (Gabriel)) cried unto her from below her, saying:
"Grieve not: your Lord has provided a water stream under you.[25]
"And shake the trunk of date-palm towards you, it will let fall
fresh ripe-dates upon you."[26] "So eat and drink and be glad. And
if you see any human being, say: 'Verily! I have vowed a fast unto
the Most Gracious (Allâh) so I shall not speak to any human being
this day.'"

Annunciation in art

The Annunciation is one of the most
frequent subjects of artistic representation in both the Christian
East and West, particularly during the Middle Ages
and Renaissance,
and figures in the repertoire of almost all of the great masters.
The figures of the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel, being
emblematic of purity and grace, were favorite subjects of many
artists.

Because the natural composition of the scene–two
parallel figures, often elegantly clad–the subject was often
employed in the decoration of a diptych or tympaneum (decorated arch
above a doorway). In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Annunciation
is typically depicted on the Holy Doors
(decorative doorway leading from the nave into the sanctuary).